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Open A Premier Landscape Gardening Business | Custom Lawn Care

Work In The Great Outdoors

Do you like working outdoors? Are you passionate about gardening? Do you want to make it your career? Does it sound like you’re wondering how to start a landscape gardening business? Motivation and passion are essential to every business idea, but that’s not all you’ll need. You will also need to demonstrate project management, custom lawn care, marketing, creative landscapes, competitive quoting, and labor management skills. Starting a business as a landscape gardener can be a relatively straightforward process by showing determination and taking a step-by-step approach.

Open Your Own Garden Company

Landscape gardening is a very seasonal occupation, especially in the northern states where you can expect to have no work at all during the winter months, so it’s a good idea to save up for those slower months during your peak periods. Landscape gardeners will usually organize a fixed price for their services, whether it is a one-off job or a monthly or weekly maintenance contract. You’ll need to factor in the materials, tools, and labor you’ll need to get the job done, as well as the time it will take to finish the job.

Creative Landscapes Pricing

Though pricing varies, nationwide simple lawn care and general maintenance costs are around $50 to $100 per hour for the client. If you are designing and building an entire yard space, you’ll charge anywhere from $6 to $15 per square foot. Most larger-scale jobs cost the client anywhere between $6000 to $25,000 for a complete backyard makeover.

What Are Some Of The Services Offered By A Landscaping Company?

Lawn care and maintenance
Lawn sodding and installation
Tree trimming
Tree and stump removal
Land clearing and grading
Artificial turf installation
Fencing
Pond design and installation
Landscape design
Sprinkler system design and installation
Water fountains design and installation
Mulching
Gravel and driveway
Garden lighting

How Many Commercial Landscaping Companies Near Me?

How many landscape gardening companies are in your area?
Where are they?
What services do they offer?
What are the share of independents and that of larger companies?
Do franchise networks exist?
What are the benefits of a franchise?
What is their pricing policy?
How many employees do they have?
What turnover do they achieve?

After researching these questions, you can better assess whether the market is large enough to support a new entrant (i.e., your landscaping gardening business). You’ll then have a good idea of the services you should be offering.

What Kinds Of Courses Are Available To Landscape Gardeners?

There are many Landscape gardening and horticulture courses available, and though not a requirement, taking these courses will give you a distinct advantage over your competitors.

The Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) offers a variety of courses. Membership will give you access to networking events and specific courses you could take. There are also several organizations offering online courses too. If you prefer learning from home, try these out.

Here are some online landscape gardening courses

The alternative is to become self-taught, or if you have grown up gardening in the family business, you might want just to hit the streets. But please keep in mind that you will be restricted to operating as a designer without a state license if you’re going to contract as a landscape architect.

Market Research For A Landscape Gardening Business

This step is essential. It will allow you to verify the business opportunities offered at the local level and know the main trends in the landscape gardening industry nationwide. By analyzing your competitors, you will also learn more about affordable landscaping and your clientele: their tastes, habits, and expectations.

You should ask yourself the following questions:

How are your local competitors doing? Growing or in decline? For what reasons?
What are the main difficulties encountered by other companies in your local area?
How often do people hire landscapers?
Is your location subject to seasonality?
What is the average landscape budget per household?
What is the breakdown of turnover between installation and maintenance?
What is the number of homes in yours and nearby towns?
What is the proportion of houses with gardens?
What are the demographic characteristics (average ages, socio-professional, how much disposable income, unemployment rate, etc.)?

How Many Commercial Landscaping Companies Near Me?

How many landscape gardening companies in your area?
Where are they?
What services do they offer?
What are the share of independents and that of larger companies?
Do franchise networks exist?
What are the benefits of a franchise?
What is their pricing policy?
How many employees do they have?
What turnover do they achieve?

After researching all of these questions, you can better assess whether the market is large enough to support a new entrant (i.e., your landscaping gardening business). You’ll then have a good idea of the services you should be offering.

Complete Landscaping Contract

Here’s a list of factors to keep in mind when quoting your gardening jobs:

Budget: You’ll need to develop a rough budget for the entire project on the spot. From planning to labor and everything in between

Permits: Don’t skip this step. Get familiar with your local government regulations and employees to make this step easy. Plan ahead, use the city resources to find out what might be hiding underground so you don’t run over septic systems or pipes or cut any underground water or power lines.

Scheduling: There’s nothing worse than having a contractor run overtime for many clients. They might have plans beyond your job, so always allow yourself time to get in and do the job.

Staffing: Your landscape designer, laborers, plumbers, electricians, etc., will all need to be available on time. Check with your contractors to hit the ground running on your project well in advance.

The Job: You’ll want to be available to show up and take control throughout the entire project if your job hits a speed bump or two. Good communication with your client will usually prevent any bad reviews at the end of the day.

Try out some of these “free” contract template websites

Landscaping Business Plan

Creating a business plan is essential for your new landscape gardening business. A plan will help verify the financial viability of your project. It is also the document you will use to present your idea to your bank or financial partners to convince them to accompany you in this venture. The ultimate goal is to encourage financial partners to finance your project.

There are some handy services available online

Some business plan templates that you should consider include:

Here are some websites that can help you design your business plan.

BizPlanBuilder: The most user-friendly
Business Plan Quick Builder (has many accessories)
Business Sorter: Best for internal plans
Entrepreneur Business Ideas – Tools & Tutorials (comprehensive)
GoSmallBiz.com: Most extra features
LivePlan: Best overall
Wise Business Plans: Best professional service

Insurance For The Garden Company

Insurance is a crucial consideration for every new landscape gardening company. You’ll want to start by checking out your local options. Most public liability packages will cover you against claims arising from injury or damage suffered by a person outside your company, like people your employees might come in contact with while servicing your contract. Your employees will fall under your employer’s liability coverage. This will likely be a legal requirement for your business.

Here is a list of some standard insurance companies

Best Places To Get Small Business Insurance

Financing: An Affordable Landscaping Business

The major banks are an excellent place to start when considering finance. Consider an application with several banks. You will then be able to compare rates and choose the best fit.

Here are a few of the standard business banking options available online

Here are a few more funding options

Small Business Administration

The Sma ll Business Administration, SBA has a program to fund new startups and is worth a look

Do I Need A Payroll Service For My Garden Company?

A payroll company can organize your payroll processing automatically. Cloud-based payroll software applications can help ensure that your essential payroll obligations are met and that countless hours of your time are not spent chained to your desk. Payroll can be one of the most annoying essential tasks for any business. Processing payroll is confusing at the best of times; with all of the constant changes to the tax code and strict deadlines, it can be a full-time job to keep up.

Direct deposits
Wages
Tax withholdings
Employee tracking
Human resources
Benefits
Vacation time
Retirement
Overtime

Payroll service companies and their easy-to-use software programs can take this burden off of your shoulders. You would be wise to immediately factor these services’ costs into your business plan. Click on the link below for a few nationwide companies offering these services.

How Do I Find Staff For My Gardening Business?

It seems pretty straightforward; throw up an ad on craigslist and wait for the phone to start ringing but did you know there are many options available to you to help you build a strong team? Check these out:

What Kind Of Equipment Do I Need To Start A Gardening Company?

Starting your landscaping business will require acquiring the right kind of equipment. This can become quite expensive; the tools you’ll need will come in all shapes and sizes. You’ll also need secure storage for all of this newly acquired equipment. Let’s look at some of the essentials you’ll need to start looking at.

Here are A Few Wholesale Garden Supply Companies

Hedge Trimmer
Lawn Aerators
Snowblower
Hand Trowels
Wheelbarrows

Landscape Gardeners Truck

The acquisition of a professional vehicle is essential. There are many ways to buy a work truck.

Here is a list of popular auto trader websites

Check Out These Trailer Companies:

What Kind Of Point Of Sale Systems Will Work For Me

POS systems are not only designed to make your life easier; their primary purpose is to help you minimize costs associated with revenue collection. When considering investing in P.O.S Systems for your landscape gardening business, you might want to check out some mobile P.O.S. solutions that will work in your office and the field.